Islamabad , Pakistan -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- The brazen shooting of a defiant teen blogger has stirred the conscience of Pakistan , a nation plagued for decades by violent extremism .

An angry chorus of voices in social media , on the street , in newspapers and over the airwaves has decried the attack against 14-year-old Malala Yousufzai as cowardly and an example of a government unable to cope with militants .

`` I blame the Taliban , first and foremost , '' columnist Sami Shah wrote in The Express Tribune , a local English daily . `` I blame the government . All of it . ''

Malala was slowly recuperating Wednesday after surgeons worked for three hours to remove a bullet lodged in her neck .

Opinion : Girl 's courage , Taliban 's cowardice

On Tuesday , Taliban militants stopped a van carrying three girls , including Malala , on their way home from school in northwestern Pakistan 's conservative Swat Valley .

One of the gunmen asked which one was Malala Yousufzai . When the girls pointed her out , the men opened fire . The bullets struck all three girls .

For two of them , the injuries were not life-threatening . For Malala , it was touch-and-go for a while .

`` We are happy that she survived , but are worried too about her health condition , '' said her uncle , Faiz Muhammad , who is with her at a military hospital in Peshawar .

On Wednesday , police took the van driver and the school guard into custody for questioning . They also said they 'd identified the culprits .

Meanwhile , the Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack and issued an ominous threat .

`` If she survives this time , she wo n't next time , '' a spokesman for the Pakistani Taliban said . `` We will certainly kill her . ''

`` I have the right of education , '' Malala said in a 2011 interview with CNN . `` I have the right to play . I have the right to sing . I have the right to talk . I have the right to go to market . I have the right to speak up . ''

In fact , many of Malala 's courageous words during that interview take on an even more defiant context .

`` When your people need you , you should come up , '' she told CNN 's Reza Sayah . `` You should come and stand up for their rights . ''

Malala also encouraged other young people to take a stand against the Taliban -- and to not hide in their bedrooms . `` God will ask you on the day of judgment where were you when your people were asking you , when your school fellows were asking you , and when your school was asking you that I am being blown up ? ''

Read more : 14-year-old girl wins Pakistan 's first peace prize

Mian Iftikhar Hussein , the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa information minister , said he was declaring a bounty of $ 100,000 for the capture of the culprits in the attempt on Malala 's life .

Pakistani Army Chief Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani visited Malala in the hospital and delivered a simple message : `` We refuse to bow before terror . '' He also noted that the Taliban lack respect for the `` golden words '' of the Prophet Mohammed -- `` that the one who is not kind to children is not amongst us . ''

`` In attacking Malala , the terrorists have failed to grasp that she is not only an individual , but an icon of courage and hope , '' the general said .

The chief minister of Punjab said he would bear the cost of Malala 's treatment , calling her `` the daughter of Pakistan . ''

The head of PIA , the national airline , said he was putting a plane on standby to take the teenager `` anywhere in the world if needed '' for treatment . Two neurosurgeons , one in the United States and one in the United Kingdom , have also offered to fly to Pakistan if needed , the interior minister said .

Throughout the country and around the world , Pakistanis , hurt and angry , prayed .

`` Malala is what Taliban will never be , '' said Murtaza Haider , the associate dean of research and graduate programs at the Ted Rogers School of Management at Toronto 's Ryerson University , in an opinion piece in the Dawn newspaper .

`` She is fearless , enlightened , articulate , and a young Muslim woman who is the face of Pakistan and the hope for a faltering nation that can no longer protect its daughters . ''

`` If the Taliban wants to fight , then they should pick on someone their own size , '' a girl said on a local news channel .

Shamila Chaudhary , a former U.S. National Security Council director for Afghanistan and Pakistan , told CNN the incident reverberates among women and girls and even conservative Muslims .

`` The Pakistani Taliban do n't have a lot of support in the Pakistani society , '' she said . `` They do n't offer social services and justice , they do n't offer any alternative to weak government . ''

This latest incident `` makes them more unpopular '' among masses of people who view the aspirations of Malala and the Taliban 's resistance to them as a `` fight between good and evil , '' said Chaudhary , a senior South Asia fellow at the New America Foundation .

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called the act `` heinous and cowardly '' on Wednesday and said the attackers must be brought to justice .

`` The secretary-general , like many around the world , has been deeply moved by Malala Yousufzai 's courageous efforts to promote the fundamental right to education -- enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights , '' a representative for Ban said .

iReport assignment : Girls + Education = ...

Twitter , the closest thing to a barometer of public opinion , likewise lit up .

`` Was n't the brute who put a gun to Malala 's little head born to a woman ? '' wrote Kamran Shafi . `` Did he have sisters , aunts , a wife or four ? Bloody filthy terrorist ! ''

Pakistan 's picturesque Swat Valley was once one of Pakistan 's biggest tourist destinations .

The valley , near the Afghanistan border and about 186 miles -LRB- 300 kilometers -RRB- from the capital city of Islamabad , boasted the country 's only ski resort . It was a draw for trout-fishing enthusiasts and visitors to the ancient Buddhist ruins in the area . But that was before militants -- their faces covered with dark turbans -- unleashed a wave of violence .

They demanded veils for women , beards for men and a ban on music and television . They allowed boys ' schools to operate but closed those for girls .

It was in this climate that Malala reached out to the outside world through her blog posts .

She took a stand by writing about her daily battle with extremist militants who used fear and intimidation to force girls to stay at home .

Malala 's online writing led to her being awarded Pakistan 's first National Peace Prize in November .

`` I was scared of being beheaded by the Taliban because of my passion for education , '' she told CNN at the time . `` During their rule , the Taliban used to march into our houses to check whether we were studying or watching television . ''

She said that she wanted to be a political leader , that her country `` needs honest and true leaders . ''

The Taliban controlled Malala 's valley for years until 2009 , when the military cleared it in an operation that also evacuated thousands of families .

But pockets remain , and violence is never far behind .

For Pakistani public officials , Chaudhary said , the incident is a reminder of the Taliban 's ends -- keeping girls from going to school and imposing hard-line religious and cultural values .

Many are in denial and have n't accepted `` the extent the Taliban will go to impose their cultural values . ''

There have been other examples of violence against women , Chaudhary said , including the Taliban flogging of a woman caught on video a few years ago .

That was `` a trigger event -- it pulled a lot of the political elite out of their denial , '' she said . `` I see this instance as something similar . ''

Chaudhary said there 's a misconception across the world that the political elite sympathize with the Taliban .

That 's untrue , she said . They are afraid of them and the possibility of violent retribution against officials and government installations . If the government does n't talk about this latest issue and have justice served , it will be a `` step back , '' she said .

Sami Shah , the columnist , said the ruling Pakistan People 's Party shares blame .

`` There can be a million excuses why the Taliban can still operate with impunity in Pakistan , a lot of them legitimate . But if you are the ruling party , then you must accept responsibility for your failures . And the PPP has resoundingly failed . ''

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CNN 's Nasir Habib and Shaan Khan reported from Islamabad , and Joe Sterling from Atlanta . CNN 's Noreen Shams and Saeed Ahmed also contributed to this report .

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NEW : `` When your people need you , you should come up , '' said defiant teen activist in 2011

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Malala Yousufzai is called an `` icon of courage and hope ''

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`` We refuse to bow before terror , '' the army chief says

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Police say they have identified the attackers